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Recently Micheal Dell has said that the company is morphing into a services firm to compete more with IBM, rather than take on Lenovo and its hardware. This would be a major de-emphasis on the PC. Dell PCs would still be sold, but not headlined.

It appears Dell is now trying to privatize. Marketing the company to private equity investors.

Rumors are that Microsoft may be interested in a stake ($3 billion is being mentioned).

My predictions (If Microsoft does in fact buy a big chunk of Dell):

Within a year or two the hardware business is spun-off to Microsoft completely.

Microsoft branded PC's are born.

Microsoft stores pop-up near every Apple store.

One or two of the big PC makers abandon ship completely or switch to Chromebooks (or similar).

Linux zealots claim yet again that this is their time to shine. Market share rises from 1.35% to 1.36%.

Most of the hardcore Microsoft zealots / Apple haters here at CP rave about how wonderful it is to get hardware and software from the same source.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington

Ummm... they could double the price of Windows and Office and save themselves the headaches of buying a part of Dell.

Apple builds great hardware (whether you believe it or not). They offer excellent support. In many cases, they charge a premium for it. The fact that OS X is married to the hardware does not cause the price to increase.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. ~ George Washington